Presidential limos have become much more specialized since President Taft introduced cars to the White House.
Following his 1909 inauguration, President William Howard Taft replaced the White House stables with a four-car garage, filling it with a pair of Pierce-Arrow luxury cars, a Baker electric car that was reportedly favored by his wife, and a White Motor Co. Steamer.
The White proved to be the publicity-shy Taft’s preferred ride after he discovered the tactic of deploying vented steam to obscure photographers’ attempts to shoot pictures of the president. Taft’s predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, also had an earlier, personally owed White Steamer, though he may not have used its steam to hide from photographers.
50 Car Companies That No Longer Exist
By John Harrington, Stacker News
On 1/27/21 at 6:30 PM EST
The automobile may have had its origins in Europe, but few sectors of the U.S. economy embody the American notions of personal liberty, expression, and freedom as fully as the automotive industry.
The rise of the industry at the beginning of the 20th century coincided with the ascent of manned flight and the motion picture industry, and a sense that the United States was entering a new and progressive era where anything was possible.
Hundreds of automotive companies sprouted all over the nation at the turn of the century, firing the ambitions of people in all walks of life.